Kate has a date with Richard Castle
by RGoodfellow64
Summary: Hmmm, this may be self explanatory or then again, it may not. You'll just have to read and decide for yourself.


Kate has a date with Richard Castle

by RGoodfellow64

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Disclaimer: It's getting hot here again, and like the proverbial snowball, I have absolutely no chance of ever owning Castle or anything associated with it.

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Dec. 13, 2008

Kate closed the door behind her and made sure her locks were secure before she started to take off her shoes. The heels were torturing her feet and she sighed in relief as each shoe came off. She let them stay there by the door as she walked to her desk and sat down. The moment she sat, she turned on her computer and crossed her leg to massage her right foot. For some reason it hurt more than the left and she simply enjoyed the relaxing sensation of the massage as her computer booted up.

Tonight had been another disaster. All she wanted was to enjoy the evening out with Lanie and some of the most repulsive examples of the human male kept hitting on her. She hadn't had a real date since she broke up with Will and that was over a year ago, almost a year and a half. There just didn't seem to be any decent guys out there, or maybe it was just her, she seemed to attract the wrong guys. Tonight was no exception and she had to resort to smashing the heel of her shoe on the man's foot before he got the hint and left.

All hands that tried to go places they shouldn't, a big smile that he thought would make her melt and a phony accent that almost had her laughing at him. Really, Antonio? She told him no three times and then he still tried to cop a feel when she stood up to go to the ladies room? What a jerk.

She finished massaging her right foot and then pulled up the left and felt some of the tension of the past week slowly drain away. Her eyes were closed in enjoyment when she heard the familiar ding that told her she had new mail. She let her left foot go and clicked on the mail icon to see several spam mailings and one real message, from the Richard Castle web site.

She clicked on the link imbedded in the e-mail and read the announcement that his latest book, 'Storm Fall' would be out in March. Pre-orders were offered to the Select Club Members Only for early release. Kate smiled and clicked the icon to pre-order the book. When the Select Club membership was offered, she was one of the very first to sign up. There were plenty of people who chose the nickname CastleLover on the site, but every one had a number after them except for her, she was the very first to pick the name.

There were several fan based boards as well that she joined early on, and she goes by the same nickname on all of them. Sometimes the conversations she had on line were the highlight of her day. She had a reputation as a strong defender of Castle's work and was even mentioned by him once when he thanked his fans for their support.

After she ordered Storm Fall she visited a few of the boards to see if there was any information on the book but finding nothing new went back to his website. Under the Castle's Corner icon she saw there was a new message and her heart sped up slightly. She loved to read his messages to his fans. She always felt good after she read his personal messages on the site. She would never admit it to anyone, but sometimes she liked to think they were written just to her.

The first thing she saw was a new photo. He looked good, really good. His shirt seemed to bring out the blue of his eyes and Kate found herself constantly looking back at the photo. She sighed at her foolishness and forced her eyes back to his text. **"**_**Christmas is coming and as a special gift to my legions of fans I will be posting snippets from Storm Fall starting on…Christmas Eve! Now you won't need to wait until March to read some of Storm's latest adventures. Who say's Santa isn't real? Keep your eye on the top banner of my website, because at 6pm EST on Christmas Eve, Derrick Storm will come to you! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Sincerely, Rick Castle."**_

Kate smiled and closed down her computer. She still had to change and wash up before going to bed. She had to be at work early tomorrow, or rather today, and after the wasted time out tonight, she needed to get as much sleep as possible.

Thirty minutes later Kate was in bed, quickly falling asleep. Her last conscious thoughts were Rick Castle's eyes. They were such a startling blue, intense yet soft at the same time. She allowed his eyes to lull her to sleep.

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Dec. 28, 2008

"I said no, Lanie."

"Come on Kate, it's New Years Eve, you're not on call and not on shift, why not go out and live a little?"

Kate watched as the break room coffee pot slowly filled and said, "Lanie, it was two weeks ago we went out and it ended badly. I just don't have the energy for it."

"But Kate…"

Kate shook her head and said, "Sorry Lanie, but I'm going to stay home. You know what they call New Years Eve, 'Amateur night'." She paused a moment and added, "Nope, I'm going to stay home, get some rest, maybe take a bath and read a book."

Lanie looked at her friend and sighed, "Kate, it's going to be two years in a couple of months. Just because Will turned out to be a jackass doesn't mean there isn't a guy out there for you. Who knows, if you go out with me you might just bump into Mr. Right."

The coffee pot finally full, Kate pulled it out and poured herself a cup, "Thanks Lanie, but I'm staying home."

"Kate…"

"Lanie."

Lanie waved her hand in defeat and said, "Ok, ok. But don't come crying to me when you're old and grey, with no one to love except your thirty cats."

Kate laughed and started to walk back to her desk. "Don't worry Lanie, if I get a cat I'll be sure to get it spayed."

As Lanie walked to the elevator, she mumbled to herself, "Just sayin', a good man is worth a lot more than a spayed cat."

She was still mumbling to herself as she entered the elevator for the ride down to the morgue.

Kate sat down at her desk and looked at the clock. There were still three hours to go before she would be able to leave. She was looking forward to going home tonight since tonight the third snippet from Storm Fall would be posted on the Castle website.

On Christmas Eve Kate had sat at her desk, the computer on, impatiently waiting for the first snippet to arrive. She kept clicking the refresh button on her browser and was positive that something was wrong with it when the new banner finally appeared and she clicked it.

They weren't really snippets though since they were at least five hundred words each, and Kate felt a thrill when she entered the world of Derrick Storm once again. Richard Castle was her favorite author and Derrick Storm was her favorite fictional character.

After the first snippet there was a blurb that the next would be in two days, and that is how they were being posted, once every other day, on the even days of the month. For a while, she was worried that after Dec. 30th there would be no new snippet until Jan. 2nd, but Castle himself wrote another note telling everyone he would have an extra snippet posted on New Years Eve as 'another present for my fans.'

Lanie was wrong that Kate would be alone, she had a date and his name was Richard Castle. Once she finished the newest snippet she intended to start reading the Storm series all over again. Just the thought of a nice hot bath, lit candles, a glass of wine and a Richard Castle book made her feel better.

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Feb. 8, 2009

Kate read the last Storm Fall snippet for the third time. She couldn't believe that they weren't going to post any more before the book was published. March 9th. That was the day of the official release party and the book will be in stores on the 11th. Kate had pre-ordered however, and her book would be waiting when she came home on the 9th. Luckily Mrs. Hoskins on the first floor always held her packages for her.

Kate chuckled when she re-read Castle's message that he had wanted to wait for the 15th, just so everyone would be aware of the Ides of March. It reminded her of the time she stood in line waiting for him to sign her book. He was polite, very outgoing, almost flirty with her, but still seemed to be all business. Throughout the entire time there Kate saw that he truly cared for his fans and appreciated them, and that he also had a wonderful sense of humor.

She had seen so many women and some men, walk past clutching their autographed books, with big smiles on their faces and sometimes even laughing. As she moved up in line and got closer to him she also saw that he spent about two minutes with each person. Giving them a little bit of himself and taking away something from them. It still made her wonder if that is where he got the ideas for some of his characters.

She smiled as she wondered if one of the characters written after he met her was actually based on her. Wouldn't that be a hoot! Oh God, her mother would have loved that.

Kate's smile fell as she was reminded of her mother and she turned to look at the photo on the desk by her monitor. It still hurt. It hurt so much.

Kate wiped away a tear and shut down her computer. She wouldn't get any more enjoyment out of it tonight. She decided she would take a shower and go to bed early.

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March 2, 2009

"No, it can't be!" she said to herself as she read the news on the boards. It had hit the Castleverse like an explosion; Storm Fall was the last Derrick Storm novel. The rumors were that Storm would die in the book and that Castle was already working on his newest character.

Kate went to another board to see if they had any other information to prove the rumor true or false, but the only new thing they had was that after this rumor came out, orders for the book sky rocketed and it would debut as number one on the best seller list.

She checked another site and stared at the bold letters on the first page, shaking her head no. It really wasn't true! It couldn't be! Derrick Storm was her favorite character…ever! How could he even think of killing him off? This had to be just a gimmick or sales ploy to sell more books. As a matter of fact, didn't she read somewhere tonight that the rumor actually came from someone high up in Blackpawn publishing? It had to be false, just a way to ensure larger sales.

Kate turned from the monitor and looked at her bookshelf. There were twenty-one Richard Castle novels on her shelf. Every one he'd published, from his most popular to those very few that were blasted by the critics. She loved them all but especially Derrick Storm.

She decided to check Twitter once again but there was still nothing from Castle about the rumor. Kate didn't really care for Twitter and didn't really use it, but when Richard Castle started sending out tweets, she had to join. Someone else had taken her CastleLover nickname so she used the shorter CL instead. She actually preferred it as it made her feel more secure when she logged onto the service.

Kate decided to re-read all the snippets that had been posted for Storm Fall and see if her detective skills may help her discover from them whether the rumors were true or not. Whatever she found tonight however, would not diminish the excitement she felt that in one week she would be holding her new Derrick Storm novel.

In the meantime, she was going to find out if the rumor was true or not. Why would he kill off Derrick Storm?

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March 9, 2009

Kate hurried into her apartment and barely managed to lock the door behind her before she started opening the package. Her Storm Fall book had arrived just when it was supposed to and she couldn't wait to start reading. Why today of all days Mrs. Hoskins needed to tell Kate all about her cat's adventures was beyond her. Anyone who named a cat Mr. Personality really needed to get out more.

Still, Kate was happy that she always held her packages and most importantly, this one in particular. She just had to find out if the rumors were true and Derrick Storm died. The thought still made her feel terrible.

She heated up some take out leftovers and brought the plate with a glass of water into the living room where she sat it down on the table in front of her couch. There it was, Storm Fall. She had every intention of reading it through tonight, even if it meant she got no sleep at all. Tonight was a gift to herself…her date with Richard Castle and through him, Derrick Storm.

She practically inhaled her dinner, gulped down her glass of water and started to pick up the book when her phone rang. 'Don't be a case. Don't be a case. Don't be a case,' she kept thinking to herself as she answered.

"Beckett!" She listened to Esposito as he told her they had a new case and that it was definitely Beckett flavored. She hated that term but didn't say a thing as she wrote down the information and then disconnected the call.

She looked at her book lying on the table and then at her phone, sighed and got up to put on her shoes and get ready for a crime scene. Derrick Storm would have to wait.

Twenty minutes later she walked into the crime scene and was shocked. It was exactly like a scene written in one of Castle's books, 'Flowers for your Grave'. As Kate looked at the body lying with roses over her body, she couldn't help but hope that this 'Beckett flavored' case turned out to be anything but, and she could get back home to her book. When she turned to speak to Lanie, she silently prayed that Lanie had all the answers so this case would turn out to be quick and simple…because Kate had a date tonight with Richard Castle and didn't want to wait any longer than necessary.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: I have no idea when I wrote this, I know it was sometime last year, but not sure exactly when. I had an idea for another story for the IFP universe and knew I had some partially written scenes that I wanted to put into it, so I was going through a bunch of files on a thumb drive, and found a folder called "Castle" which has all sorts of snippets for different story ideas. I came across one called "Thoughts" and wondered why it was so big. Opening it I found out why, the story was almost complete! I remembered some of it but honestly it mostly came as a surprise to me that it was almost done. Anyway I finished it and here it is. Hope you like it.**


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